She grinned. ‘How convenient.’
‘Isn’t it?’ His tone was innocent; his eyes weren’t.
‘Would you like something to drink, Augi?’
‘Just a black coffee, thanks.’
Of course. Lucy should have guessed. Augi was far too self-disciplined for a chocolate mocha with extra whipped cream.
Lucy grabbed a freshly vacated window table for Dan, giving him a clear line of sight. Her matchmaking skills had once nudged Sam and Jen back together. This would be more of a challenge — older, mysterious, seemingly the opposite of her brother — but not beyond her.
‘Salad, Dan?’
‘Nope. You know me. Pie and chips man.’
‘At least they’re both homemade.’ She gave the order to the chef, adding in a big salad on the quiet. Then she took Augi to another, more secluded table.
‘Thanks for coming, Augi. I really appreciate this.’
‘It’s no problem. I enjoy solving problems. And this one took some solving.’
Lucy glanced at the empty space in front of Augi. No laptop. No bag. No phone. She wondered — briefly and not for the first time — how Augi functioned in the modern world.
‘But you managed it?’
‘Yes. It was an interesting case.’ Augi paused, glancing towards the hotel, then back at Lucy. ‘A sad one, too.’
‘Sad?’ Lucy stared. ‘That’s not what I expected you to say. Oh — I get it. You mean sad for the people he’s walked over?’
Augi’s dark eyes met hers. She shook her head. ‘No. Sad for Oliver. Not many people would have survived his upbringing emotionally intact.’
Something tightened in Lucy’s throat. Her body reacted before her mind could push back; sympathy slid in where she didn’t want it.
‘Oh.’ She cleared her throat. ‘So… what did you find out?’
Lucy sat back, her coffee cooling untouched, as Augi talked. She told it like a story: the only child of a father who squandered a family fortune and dragged their name through the mud; a mother who left when Oliver was small, with a custody arrangement that left the boy with his father who, it seemed, preferred gambling in Las Vegas to parenting.
Augi described Harvard, then the return to Australia — not New Zealand — to begin a property career where his financial manoeuvres were as legendary as his love life.
‘Oh,’ Lucy said at last. ‘I hadn’t imagined any of that.’
‘Nor I,’ said Augi, taking a sip of water. ‘It’s quite a story. Your Oliver —’
‘He’s not my Oliver,’ Lucy said automatically. Why did everyone think he was?
‘— is certainly strong to have survived a father like that. At best, the father was absent.’
‘And at worst?’
Augi shrugged. ‘The worst possible parent, I think.’
‘I guess that explains the drive. And the…’ Lucy grimaced, ‘take-no-prisoners tactics. Success is non-negotiable.’
‘I think you’re right. Success at any cost.’ Augi’s gaze flicked up over Lucy’s shoulder, and a soft blush rose.
‘Dan!’ Lucy turned to see him standing behind her, eyes pinned on Augi. ‘I thought you’d gone, you’ve been so quiet.’ She turned fully, studying her brother. The last time she’d seen that expression had been when he’d found an injured puppy on the beach. She glanced back at Augi. Nothing injured there — only composed, dignified calm.
‘But while you’re here,’ she said brightly, ‘why don’t you talk to Augi about what you’ve found out about a certain someone?’
